Escaped Alabama convicts arrested in Tennessee

Published: Thursday, February 01, 2001

TOM SHARPAssociated Press Writer

DICKSON, Tenn. {AP} Six escaped convicts from Alabama were captured in Tennessee on Thursday, two days after they broke out of a maximum-security prison by using a broom handle to lift an electrified fence.

Authorities stumbled onto the group along a country road about 50 miles west of Nashville and 165 miles from the prison. They scattered and were caught without violence over an eight-hour span.

"We just partied, drank and got high  just had a good time," convicted burglar James McClain said after his arrest.

He said the group was headed to Memphis and then planned to drive to Canada. They had stopped near in the unincorporated community of Bucksnort, west of Dickson, to eat, clean themselves and rest.

There were three convicted murderers among the group and their escape prompted residents across the region to lock their doors. Authorities say two of the inmates beat and robbed the manager of a Georgia RV park on Wednesday. The manager was treated and released.

The six stopped at a gas station Wednesday evening not far from where they were found. Three went inside and bought six bologna sandwiches, beer, toothpaste, toothbrushes and shampoo, authorities said.

Just after midnight, two sheriff's deputies, looking for someone who had stolen a street sign, came upon a car parked near a creek the convicts apparently were using to wash themselves. Deputy Darrell Groves said the inmates "scattered like a bunch of deer" into the woods.

The deputies learned the car had been stolen near the Alabama prison and inside found a shotgun, an empty pistol holder, money and several makeshift knives.

The deputies called for help and caught the first three inmates around 6 a.m. with the help of a tracking dog.

"We ordered them to give up and they came out unarmed," police officer Bryan Johnson said. "We said, 'Who are you?' And, they said, 'You know who we are."'

Two more convicts were found within an hour. Gary Scott eluded authorities for another 61/2 hours before two residents spotted him crouched under a bridge.

"We told an FBI agent, went down the road a little piece and turned around, and by the time we got there, there were three state highway patrol cars there," said Benny Rumsey, one of the residents.

The inmates were not expected to be returned to Alabama for a few days.

The inmates escaped Tuesday by slipping beneath an electric fence and two razor-wire fences at Alabama's St. Clair Correctional Facility, northeast of Birmingham, before guards noticed they were gone.

Prison commissioner Mike Haley has blamed the escape on a manpower shortage and faulty security, including an alarm system that didn't go off.

Murphy is also credited with making the only other successful escape from the Alabama prison, in 1984. He and another man used a hacksaw to cut through metal bars and then crawled 100 yards through a drainage pipe to freedom. Murphy was recaptured about 21/2 months later.